The cold war
USA’s / USSR’s contribution.
The beginning of the cold war is often seen as from 1947 when there was a sustained political and military tension between the western world (the US) and the eastern world (the Soviet Union). One of the main goals for the USA was the containment of communism. One of the ways that was tried was called the Truman Doctrine. This that the USA would give money and military aid to any countries wishing to defend themselves from communism. In 1955 the Warsaw pact was formed by the Soviet Union to set up a series of states closely aligned to the USSR as a military and political barrier between Russia’s vulnerable borders(due to WWII) in eastern Europe and its potential enemies.
After WWII Germany was divided into 4 regions, 1 was given to France,1 given to Britain and another given to America, the final 1 was given to the USSR. In Germany Marshall aid money began to be used in the zones under the control of the USA, France and Britain. The Deutschmark, a new currency was issued in each of the zones but Stalin had refused to allow it in the soviet zone. On the 24th of June 1948 the Russians closed all routes land and water to Berlin from the western zones. The western world feared that the Russians were trying to use this blockade as a means to take over all of Germany using this blockade. The western side believed that the actions of the soviets had to be beaten at all costs. The western side believed that the Russians could block land, railway and naval access they could not stop air. In June 1948 an airlift known as Operation Vittels which would last till May 1949 transported 2.35 million tonnes of supplies. This was achieved by flying supplies over the soviet blockade. Stalin was reluctant to turn this incident of the cold war in to a large one by attacking the allied aircraft so in in may 1949 he called off the blockade giving the first significant victory of the war to the allies.
On the 4th of April 1949,the USA and 11 other countries formed an alliance know as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). One of the terms of the alliance was that all members agreed to support any other member against soviet attack and to oppose strongly to the advance of communism. The USA was the dominant member of NATO because of its industrial strength and because they possessed the atomic bomb.
The USSR developed its first atomic bomb in 1949. Because the worlds most powerful nations were clearly both the USA and the USSR they both became known as superpowers.
From the 1950’s onwards the fear of communism grew stronger amongst USA and its NATO allies. One of the reasons the fear was growing is because communist governments around the world were likely to become allies off the USSR and therefore strengthening them and threatening America. The cold war never developed into a war in Europe but elsewhere. Around the globe several serious events occurred between communists and non-communists. The first of these incidents came in 1950 in Korea.
Just as Germany part of Korea was occupied by the soviets (the north) and part of it by the Americans (the south). The USSR set up a communist North and the USA a somewhat democratic in the South. On the 25th of June 1950 the north Korean army invaded the south, crossing the border which had been fixed upon the 38° North parallel. The US president reacted immediately to the invasion. On the 26th of June he promised to send military assistance to the south. Within 3 months US troops had landed joined by UN forces driving the north Koreans back with great success. Both the USSR and China both had communist governments and both sent aid to the north Koreans. The USSR sent military equipment whereas the Chinese sent 500,000 volunteers to help them. these volunteers helped the north to push the UN forces to Seoul and beyond. Although in 1951 they were back facing each other at the border of 38° parallel north.
Eventually the casualties reach 1.3 million for the south and twice as much for the North. In July 1953 a ceasefire was agreed between both North and South Korea. The North Remained predominantly communist whereas the south a pro-American but not fully democratic. Although the Korean war never brought the two Superpowers USA and USSR into direct conflict on the battlefield it did however widen the rift between the communist and democratic nations greatly.
Nuclear weapons were starting to be developed as well, but the USA generally held the lead in this “nuclear arms race”. In 1951 the USA successfully tested the Hydrogen Bomb (H-Bomb). This was almost a thousand times more powerful than the one dropped on Japan during WWII. The Russians caught up exploding their first H-Bomb in 1953. By the mid 50’s both the Russians and Americans both had bombs capable of destroying entire cities in a single blow. If either side decided to use these weapons the radioactive fallout was expected to kill people hundreds of miles away from where the bombs had landed. Some of these missiles that had been created could fly up to thousands of miles and strike any target with deadly accuracy. Both countries knew though that if either country were to unleash their arsenal of nuclear weapons it would no just destroy the enemy but themselves as well.
Continuing to seek ways to oust Castro following the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Kennedy and his administration experimented with various ways of covertly facilitating the overthrow of the Cuban government. Significant hopes were pinned on a covert program named the Cuban Project, devised under the Kennedy administration in 1961.
In February 1962, Khrushchev learned of the American plans regarding Cuba: a "Cuban project"—approved by the CIA and stipulating the overthrow of the Cuban government in October, possibly involving the American military—and yet one more Kennedy-ordered operation to assassinate Castro. Preparations to install Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba were undertaken in response.
Alarmed, Kennedy considered various reactions, and ultimately responded to the installation of nuclear missiles in Cuba with a naval blockade and presented an ultimatum to the Soviets. Khrushchev backed down from a confrontation, and the Soviet Union removed the missiles in return for an American pledge not to invade Cuba again.
The Cuban Missile Crisis (October–November 1962) brought the world closer to nuclear war than ever before. It further demonstrated the concept of mutually assured destruction, that neither superpower was prepared to use their nuclear weapons, fearing total global destruction via mutual retaliation.
The aftermath of the crisis led to the first efforts in the nuclear arms race at nuclear disarmament and improving relations, although the Cold War 's first arms control agreement, the Antarctic Treaty, had come into force in 1961.
In 1964, Khrushchev 's Kremlin colleagues managed to oust him, but allowed him a peaceful retirement. Accused of rudeness and incompetence, he was also credited with ruining Soviet agriculture and bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war.
Khrushchev had become an international embarrassment when he authorized construction of the Berlin Wall, a public humiliation for Marxism-Leninism.
References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Pact Kevin McCarthy Footsteps in time junior certificate history VolumeII.
References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Pact Kevin McCarthy Footsteps in time junior certificate history VolumeII.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
It was the clash between capitalism and communism that caused the Cold war in the first place. Looking all the way back to the issue of Germany and its division post-WWII, and leading to the Berlin crisis, evidence is obvious that the United States and Soviet Union’s different polices with respect to governing their portions of Germany led to the ‘plantation of the seeds of mistrust’. In Addition, the fact that European countries had been devastated by the Second World War further fueled this clash of ideals between superpowers, since Soviets were trying to absorb them into their sphere of influence by offering benefits through means of the Warsaw Pact. On the other hand, the U.S. had implemented the Truman Doctrine in order to stop communism from spreading further, most notoriously providing financial aid to Greece and Turkey. As a result, the Cold War was truly put into full gear; the clash of spheres of influence was imminent, it was East Germany vs. West Germany, NATO vs. the Warsaw Pact, Capitalism vs. Communism.…
- 1145 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
4) The Russians responded to containment by cutting off access to Berlin, demanding the withdrawal of American and Western European military forces –Truman refused and ordered an airlift to supply the city. In early 1949 Soviets called off the blockade.…
- 527 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The Cold War (1945-1991) conquered international relations within a structure of political, economic, and military tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War facilitated global leadership by the United States, and provided Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and his successors with an enemy to validate their suppressive regime. The Cold War helped legitimize an unrepresentative government and uphold the Communist Party in the Soviet Union (Kennedy, 1989; Kissinger, 1994).…
- 1432 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Between 1945 and 1950, the tensions increased between the United States and the Soviet Union. Both superpowers, with varying standpoints on global affairs, were brought to the brink of war. As the United States pushed for the containment of communism, and the development of capitalist democracies, the Soviet Union continued to impose communist rule amongst itself and its satellite nations. Eventually, these conflicting views would lead to the start of the Cold War. Fueled by the disagreement of the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., the war would be fought indirectly through propaganda and influence from leaders, the development of alliances, as well as the arms race.…
- 983 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The existing tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union proceeded to spike between 1945 and 1950. The disputes between these two countries pressured them to start a war. Of the post World War II goals that contributed to the Cold War, there were a prominent few, including the “Iron Curtain”, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and NATO. During the Cold War, competition for methods of weaponry skyrocketed. Some of said tactics were Satellite nations, the Space Race, and the buildup of arms.…
- 495 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The Cold War took off after the end of the Second World War when the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as the two global dominant superpowers each grasping ideologies that were dichotomous from each other. This adverse relationship continued for half a century and the clash of two distinct and differing political ideologies of communism and capitalism saw no clear conclusion or victory for either side. The tense atmosphere resonated not only in the United States and the Soviet Union, but also around the world and into space. For most of the fifty years of the cold war, the ideological struggle and the many indirect physical conflicts between the West and the Soviet Union were in a deadlock with no visible success of either side. However,…
- 392 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
From the mid 1940’s through the mid 1960’s, the United States was in its first cold war with the Soviet Union. It was considered cold because there was no outright fighting. The U.S. had been fighting to rid the world of communism, but only brought the communist USSR and USA together to fight their common enemy, Germany in World War two. The United States made a deal with the USSR that once Germany surrendered, ninety days after that they would declare war on Japan. The US had developed a nuclear bomb that would eventually lead to be the winning weapon of world war two.…
- 963 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In 1946, in his famous “Long Telegram,” George Keenan (diplomat) explained the policy: “The Soviet Union, he wrote was a “political force committed fanatically to the belief that with the U.S. there can be not permanent modus vivendi.” As a result, America’s only choice was the long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.” President Harry Truman was the first American president to fight the Cold War. He used several policies, however the most famous was the Truman Doctrine. This plan would give money and military aid to countries threatened by communism.…
- 1354 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
The United States’ alliance with the Soviet Union began to crumble throughout World War II. Fueled by ideological differences, this climate of mutual mistrust between the two nations became known as the Cold War. Conflicts over Poland, a symbol of WWII, continued to divide these two nations apart as Stalin wanted a buffer in Eastern Europe to prevent another invasion. This is best represented by the concept of the “Iron Curtain” dividing Eastern and Western Europe. As a result of being unable to remove the Soviets from areas already under their control, the US implemented the philosophy of containment, as developed by George F. Kennan, to prevent the spread of communism.…
- 2434 Words
- 10 Pages
Better Essays -
“That American and Soviet soldiers had first met and grasped hands on April 25, 1945; it was the future of Germany that would test and then break the alliance” (Paxton 416). It did not help that Berlin was divided up and occupied by four different countries three of which supported capitalism and freedom and one that wanted communism. From there the Soviet Union put up the Berlin Wall stopping East Germans from leaving their occupied zone and going into West Berlin. Causing more controversy between the sides. The divided Germany struggled and never really worked. West Germany flourished, but East Germany struggled and caused a major rift with the Soviets. Dividing up Germany only intensified the issue that was already developing and prolonged the…
- 799 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
There were two core treaties that defined the Cold War; NATO and the Warsaw Pact. In 1949, the possibilities of the Communist expansion prompted the United States and 11 other Western nations to take action and form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The NATO was a joining of the western nations and their beliefs. In response, the Soviet Union and its other Communist nations in Eastern Europe founded another alliance, the Warsaw Pact, in 1955. The Warsaw Pact was seen as the communist group. The alignment of nearly every European nation into one of these two opposing camps clarified the political division of the European continent that had taken place since World War II. This alignment provided the framework for the military standoff…
- 1246 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
The Civil War era was determined by the unresolved issues of the Revolution. Two of the main issues being would the United states be a dissolvable group of sovereign states (The Confederacy) or an indivisible nation with a central government; the other being if the nation announcing itself to the world as an equal nation where all are created equal would maintain its identity as the largest slave owning country in the world. In January 1861, seven Southern slave states individually declared their withdrawal from the United States of America and formed the Confederate States of America. Abraham Lincoln believed the only way to save the union was to declare war against those who wanted a divided nation. The North was victorious and as a result of this there was the Emancipation Proclamation.…
- 447 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
By the end of World War II Germany occupied by the four major powers and divided into two territories. The three allied forces became West Germany and East Germany was communist. The capital of Berlin was divided between communism and independence. In an effort to test the United States' commitment to containment Joseph Stalin decided to put up a blockade around West Germany. (Doc B) The blockade prevented all supplies, including…
- 954 Words
- 4 Pages
Better Essays -
Many historians argue that the development of the cold war in the years 1945-48 owed more to soviet expansionism than to the USA’s economic interests. Source 7 supports this view to an extent as it argues that the USSR ‘tightened its grip over the countries of central and eastern Europe’ and how the ‘western attitudes had hardened’ due to this. However source 8 disagrees with source 7 completely as it suggests that there were ‘important economic advantages for the USA in starting a cold war’. Source 9 rejects the view of both sources as it acknowledges the need for Stalin’s need for security and that there was a ‘wedge’ driven into ‘soviet security’.…
- 779 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The orthodox view of the Cold War elucidates its inevitability due to the great ideological differences that existed between the Soviet Union and United States. On the other hand, the revisionists argued that it happened due to the actions that Soviets took and the consequential responses made by the United States as a result of their inflexible, single-sided interpretations of Soviet action. Yet, even with the backdrop of the early Bolshevik conflict in 1918 as well as the great ideological gulf between the Soviet Union and United states, the cold war could have been avoided in its initial stages under President Roosevelt. However, what really determined it was the series of events that occurred after Roosevelt was succeeded by Truman. The inevitability of the Cold War, at its roots, was due to Soviet aggression and attitudes felt by the United States which was exacerbated from the post war climate of the time. To be precise, it was a combination of the subsequent events that followed Truman’s accession that sealed the unavoidability of the Cold War. American diplomatic policies were dictated by their fears of communism as well as opportunities that arise from modern warfare which aided in the evolution of American foreign policies. In the end, the Cold War was inevitable as a result of the conflict of interest between nations, whether it be the ideological gulf between communism and capitalism or the determining the political future of Eastern Europe, which was ultimately fuelled by the unstable post World War II environment.…
- 2933 Words
- 12 Pages
Powerful Essays